Battalion Zeeland

The interviews focus on events and experiences in the years 1920 – 2021 with an emphasis on 1940 – 1949. They mainly discuss Indonesia and the Netherlands. Themes include World War II/Japanese time, Indonesian revolution , personal memories, motivation for signing for the domestic combat groups, influence on daily life, casualties, (criticism of) the government there and here, difference in rank and file, KNIL, reflecting on what was right and wrong, patrols, Indonesian girlfriends (relationships), shelling.

The Liberation Museum Zeeland considers it important to draw attention to the Second World War and Indonesian War of Independence in Indonesia. Many young men from Zeeland volunteered for military service after the liberation of the southwestern Netherlands and volunteered for military service and left for Indonesia. In 2020, to complement the interviews on the Second World War in Zeeland, eight veterans were interviewed from Battalion Zeeland as part of ’75 years of freedom’ with funding from the Mondriaan Fund. The main question was: How did you come to sign up and what have been your experiences as part of Battalion Zeeland? The following questions were addressed in the interviews: How did you personally feel about having to go to Indonesia? What did you experience? How did you view the political situation? What was it like coming home and how were you received? Do you have a message for the youth?

The aim of the interviews was to capture the story of rural youth in Zeeland who sign up for military service. The interviews were conducted for the benefit of the Liberation Museum Zeeland’s permanent exhibition and film material for Omroep Zeeland to reach a wider audience.

The filmmaker/interviewer was briefed on the key questions and then decided for himself which topics received more or less attention. Video documents of the interviewees can be found in the Liberation Museum Zeeland’s collection. This collection is currently being digitised. The interviews have been made into eight items for Omroep Zeeland, each about 10 minutes long, available on YouTube under the name Battalion Zeeland. Several short fragments for each interviewee have also been included in the Bevrijdingsmuseum Zeeland’s permanent exhibition.

Example item Omroep Zeeland:

Interviewer(s): Fifi Visser (Studio Haak & Visser)